Yiğit Günel, Creative Director & Photographer

Creative Director & Photographer · London

Portrait-led
visual work
for brands &
publications

Cannes Lions Bronze Medal · 2011
Crystal Apple 1st Prize · 2016

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Curated
Projects

15 years of international campaigns and editorial commissions. Every image made to hold more than surface.

London-based.
Portrait-driven.
Internationally active.

I'm Yiğit Günel, creative director, photographer, and founder of Cult Studio. I make portrait-led work for brands and publications, with a focus on clear visual storytelling. My practice spans photography, creative direction, and motion, shaped by what the brief needs and what will serve the story best.

15
Years active
2
Major awards
30+
Global clients
UK & Int'l
Availability

Growing up in a separated family, I always searched for a place where I could be alone with myself and dream. At first, I hid above wardrobes, under beds and tables, or inside cupboards where I could fit comfortably. But it never took long for my mother or grandmother to discover the little worlds I had built for myself, places where I could hide and quietly watch the outside world. The only darkness I was never afraid of was my father’s darkroom, with its smell of chemicals and sense of magic. For many years, I wandered in search of that same feeling. Eventually, I found another room, one with a tiny hole through which I could see the world around me while remaining alone with my thoughts. Today, photography has become that hiding place. It allows me to look closely without interrupting, to observe people, society, and the relationships between them. I am drawn to quiet moments, ordinary lives, and the emotional spaces people carry with them. My work begins with watching, but it is never only about distance. It is also an attempt to understand, to connect, and to make visible what often remains hidden.

Selected Exhibitions
  • Capital of Loneliness, Bursa International FotoFest, 2026
  • Selfhood, Versus Arts, London, 2025
  • New Photography, Alan Istanbul, 2015
Selected Talks
  • Cult Creative Meet-ups, ongoing monthly, 2024 - 2026
  • The Photographic Aproach, EOG University, 2026
  • Where to Start?, Medipol University, 2022
  • Storytelling Through Photography, Istanbul Bilgi University, 2017
Publications
  • Photographing a Rebellion, Ozcan Yurdalan
  • Moscow Diary, self-publication
  • Beyoglu Photographs, Photography Foundation
Yiğit Günel
Disciplines
Photography · Creative Direction · Motion
Awards
Cannes Lions Bronze Medal (2011)
Crystal Apple 1st Prize (2016)
Editorial
GQ · Red Bull · Skylife · Elle Decor · Brava Casa
Agencies
Ogilvy · BBDO · McCann · Y&R · TBWA · Cheil
Base
London, UK · Available worldwide
Vodafone
Samsung
Beko
Ogilvy
BBDO
McCann
GQ
Red Bull
Mr. Start
Univ. Greenwich
KFC
Pip & Nut

Cult Studio
a creative
solutions company

Cult is a creative solutions company focused on visual storytelling. We help brands build or reshape their stories through photography, motion, and creative direction — collaborating with specialist talent to bring ideas to life in meaningful, inspiring ways. Humble, yet sleek.

Visit Cult Studio →
Cult Studio